The stock market plunged Monday, as the House of Representatives voted down the $700 billion financial bailout package, sending the Dow Jones industrial down almost 780 points for their largest point drop ever.

Thursday's Berkshire Hathaway-backed deal between Dow Chemical and Rohm and Haas shows that Warren Buffett is standing by ready to finance deals other lenders might not have the cash or guts to manage.

Stocks have fallen sharply recently as the Dow Jones industrial average dropped below 13,000 on Wednesday for the first time since April 24, capping a month-long slide that has wiped out the most of the stock market's 2007 gains and is threatening to turn into Wall Street's worst drop in 4 years.

The financial fallout from the housing bust is spreading beyond the battered shares of home builders, mortgage lenders and investment banks. The entire stock market is now being infected by the turmoil in the credit markets caused by home loans gone bad, imploding hedge funds, fast-sinking values of mortgage-related debt and a sharp rise in borrowing costs.